Must dash, gotta stay ahead of the Vikings

WHEN you are about to embark on a six-month trek across the Antarctic in
darkness and in temperatures of -70C, you need something to sustain you. For
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, that something is to beat the Norwegians.

The veteran explorer and the five other members of his team hope to become the
first in history to cross the Antarctic continent in winter. Fiennes will be
driven on by the same ambition that motivated Captain Scott more than a
century ago.

If he fails, Fiennes observes: “Without a doubt within a couple of years, the
Norwegians would be at it.” And he does not want that? “No. They would
probably bring Volvos.”

Fiennes is clearly prepared for the battle. “The Norwegians managed to do the
first crossing of the Arctic in wintertime recently,” Fiennes says, speaking
from the SA Agulhas, the expedition ship that sets sail from Cape Town
tomorrow.